Your source for the latest news on Rutgers football, basketball, and other sports

Menu

Paul James to miss third straight game but return in November

Halfback Paul James has been ruled out for the Oct. 26 game against Houston but likely will return no later than Nov. 16 against Cincinnati, Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood announced after Thursday’s practice. It is possible that he could be back for the one game in between, Nov. 2 against Temple.

James has missed the past two games with a lower leg injury suffered Sept. 21 against Arkansas but Rutgers originally hoped that he would be back after this bye week.

“From talking to the doctors and trainers and talking to P.J., he will be out for the Houston game,” Flood said. “But possibly back for the game after that. He is progressing in a pretty good fashion. He will be on schedule. We’ll re-evaluate him on Sunday (Oct. 27) and see if he will be ready to go for the game after that. I would be very optimistic that past that he will be back. But I think there is a possibility still that he will back for the Temple game.”

Flood said that he will not work James back into practice until Oct. 27 at the earliest but that the redshirt sophomore does not necessarily need a full week of practice in order to play in a game.

“We have to make sure that he is ready to go and ready to do all the things we’re going to ask him to do in the game,” Flood said. “If he is, we certainly would want him back. If he is not, then we don’t. We’ve got other good players on the team and they’ll have to do it.”

James was second in the nation in rushing yards – he still has the team lead – when he was injured, crumbling to the ground while running a pass route in the flat. In his place, Savon Huggins started the past two games and Justin Goodwin ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns against SMU, but the duo combined with Savon Huggins on 17 carries for 60 yards against Louisville.

“I would anticipate seeing both guys within the first three series of the game,” Flood said of the plan for Houston. “Whoever starts the game, we haven’t decided that just yet.”

James has not had any setbacks in the process.

“It seems like everything is progressing at a good pace,” Flood said. “We’ll re-evaluate it a week from Sunday and see what we think we can get out of him.”

About Ryan Dunleavy

Ryan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.

The search is over. After Jay Young moved on to take the Fairfield Stags head coaching spot, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell had a major hole to fill on his assistant coaching staff. And while it seems like Pikiell did his due diligence interviewing for the position, he didn’t have to go far to fill it. […]

As East coast temperatures continue to rise, so do expectations for next season We are just now arriving at Memorial Day weekend, but the optimism around the Rutgers men’s basketball program is already in full bloom. Next season is the most anticipated in many years and postseason aspirations are warranted. Entering year four of the […]